Worked Up
by tardisblues
Summary: An intense exercise sure can work up a person's appetite.


**A/N: **Just a fun, nonsensical, pointless fic I wrote on a whim. Enjoy!

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><p>Expelling a breath, Korra flopped back onto the practice mat, her limbs flailing out at her sides as she stared up at the high ceiling. "That was…" she panted, lifting a hand to her face to push her sweat-drenched fringe out of her eyes.<p>

"Exhausting?" offered Mako, more than just a little breathless.

"Y-yeah," Korra breathed, her tongue darting out of her mouth to lick the salty sweat away from her upper lip. She wrinkled her nose and sighed again, wondering if her heart rate would ever return to normal. "I've had more than my fair share of rigorous workouts but that? That was _intense_."

Mako laughed, a short, crisp sound that was alarmingly lacking in mirth. Reaching for the ragged towel carelessly thrown over the ladder step, he mopped up the sweat dotting his forehead. "I don't know if I should be proud or concerned by that."

"Proud," she said at once, arching her neck and pressing the crown of her head into the mat so she could see him. He was upside down, of course, but at least from this angle, it looked like he was smiling instead of perpetually frowning. "Not to brag or anything," Korra continued, flipping onto her stomach. She propped herself up onto her elbows and smiled. "But I've trained with some of the best Firebenders in the world and let me tell you, you'd give them a run for their money."

Under the guise of wiping the sweat clinging to the back of his neck, Mako dipped his head to hide the faint blush coloring his cheeks. "I doubt it," he dismissed a little too flippantly. To his own ears, he sounded incredibly rude and ungrateful, so he couldn't imagine how he must've sounded to her. Briefly, he closed his eyes. Sometimes, he was such an _idiot_. "But," Mako added, his voice catching slightly as he lifted his head to find her staring at him intensely. "Thanks anyway."

The corner of her eyes wrinkled and twin dimples appeared in the apples of her cheeks as her lips stretched into a wide smile. "You're welcome," she replied with a satisfied nod of her head. Her ponytail swayed as she tilted her head to the side, the brightness of her smile waning ever so slightly. "Spirits, I'm hungry."

Mako snorted. "A bit of an odd conversation transition, but I'll allow it," he said, the left corner of his mouth quirking into one of his infuriating almost-smiles.

Scrunching up her face, Korra made a rather inappropriate gesture at which Mako shook his head, just barely quelling the urge to roll his eyes. In one fluid motion, she pushed herself into a sitting position, pulled her knees to her chest, her arms draping over her knees. "So," Korra began, lazily drawing out the word as she stared up at him.

"No," Mako blurted.

She scoffed, heat rushing to her cheeks as her temper spiked. Perhaps it was a bit of a premature reaction, but she couldn't help it. There was something about Mako that made her blood run just a little hotter. "What do you mean 'no'? I didn't even say anything!"

"Okay, maybe not," he agreed begrudgingly. "But still, my answer is the same: no. Absolutely not. I'm sure it's needlessly dangerous and excessively foolish –"

"Wow, you have so much faith in me, don't you?"

"-and somehow, we'll end up at the police station, just like we have the last two times I did something stupid and agreed to go out in public with you. Seriously, do you not know how to not destroy things?" continued Mako as though she hadn't interrupted him. "And honestly, I don't think I could handle another shake down from the Chief. She is actually the most terrifying person I've ever met in my entire life. Once is more than enough."

"As true as all of that may be," Korra conceded, frowning as she realized just how often she wound up handcuffed in Chief Bei Fong's custody. It was a truly worrisome figure. "It doesn't change the fact that if I had anything to throw at you, I would."

Mako cocked a brow, another one of those dumb half-grins tugging at the corner of his mouth. Why he refused to smile, she wasn't sure, but that was a mystery she would have to save for another day. One way or another, she would get to the bottom of it. Just not right now. She was too hungry and too irritated to poke her nose where it didn't belong. "You mean the Avatar's not going to bend at me?" he asked, that annoying sarcastic lilt dancing through his words.

"Nah, that would be unfair. Four elements against one?" She pulled a face and shook her head. "That hardly seems like a fair fight."

"Since when do you fight fair? You always cheat!"

"Baseless accusation!" she retorted, jabbing her finger at him. "I do not _always_ cheat!"

"So maybe not all of the time, but the last time we played Pai Sho –"

Groaning, Korra buried her face in her hands, her fingers tangling in her hair. The one time she decided to use her extensive knowledge and, quite frankly, impressive skill at the game to win, she got caught, but only because Bolin had the worst poker face she had ever seen. Seriously, she'd had the game in the bag until the stupid idiot started giggling. "Is there any chance you're ever going to let that go?"

"No," he said quickly, putting a hand on his hip, his thumb hooking through a belt loop. "Not until you admit that you swindled me."

She picked up her head and laughed. "Swindled you? Please. It was easier than taking candy from a baby. Honestly, how you didn't notice that I was –"

"Anyway!" Mako exclaimed, successfully drowning her out with the sheer volume of his voice. "What were you going to say? You know, before all of this?" Gesturing wildly between them, he gripped the hem of his shirt, tugging it over his head in one swift motion. Grabbing a fresh one from his bag, Mako slipped it onto his arms, but didn't pull it over his head.

Korra folded her arms over her chest, ignoring the way her pulse fluttered in her veins at the sight at his abs, which were, simply put, really nice. It wasn't anything she hadn't seen a dozen times before, gleaming with sweat or otherwise, but somehow she was still strangely transfixed by them. Rolling her eyes at herself, she shook her head and pressed, "Oh, so now you're interested in what I have to say?"

He blinked once. "You have my full and undivided attention," he deadpanned, a glimmer of amusement in his amber eyes.

For a moment, Korra considered continuing the argument, but the fact remained that she was hungry, almost achingly so. When she'd come strolling through the gym's entrance, she had intended on asking both of the brothers if they'd be interested in catching a show and maybe a bite to eat afterwards, but Mako, who was wrapping his knuckles with white gauze, told her that Bolin was out on a date and then invited her to spar with him. Never one to pass up an opportunity to take the cocky Firebender down a notch, Korra leapt at the chance, forgetting the faint rumble in her stomach. By the time they had finished, she was not only drenched with sweat, but also lightheaded, something she attributed to her hunger.

So while bickering with Mako was an amusing thought to ponder, mostly because he was extremely entertaining when flustered, the idea of shoveling a plateful of food into her mouth was absolutely drool worthy - literally. Salvia flooded her mouth and almost as if on cue, her stomach growled, a low, but detachable sound, if the look on Mako's face was anything to go by.

"You know now that you mention it," Mako said as he pulled the white gauze from his fingers and reached for his customary gloves. "I'm a little hungry too." He tugged the gloves onto his hands, flexing his fingers and then adjusting the straps at his wrists. His mouth quirked as he added, "Someone worked up my appetite."

Allowing a small smile of her own to touch her lips, Korra pushed herself to her feet, wiping her hands on the seat of her pants. "What can I say? I'm a handful."

At this, Mako laughed – a loud, genuine laugh that was surprisingly deep and richly layered. It didn't make her insides squirm or her stomach flip, but her smile grew as she regarded him. "You have no idea," he replied, shaking his head as he led the way towards the exit.

She dug her elbow into his ribs. "I'm not that bad."

He returned the dig, though not quite as viciously. "So," he said, gently prodding his rib. "What were you thinking of eating? Personally, I could go for some meat."

"Yes!" Korra shouted so loudly, it caught them both off-guard. The tips of her ears reddened slightly. "I mean, that sounds really good. It's been too long since I've had some hot, succulent meat."

Mako's eyebrows rose as he lifted a hand to his neck, massaging the sudden tension gathered there. "Okay then," he said, fingertips working the knots in his muscles. "Meat it is. I know this place that has the best roast duck you've ever had."

"Is it far?"

"No, not at all."

Before he could get too far away from her, Korra closed the distance between them and looped her arm through his. If the gesture caught him by surprise, well then, Mako had a much better poker face than his younger brother did. Maybe he could give Bolin a few pointers.

"Lead the way," said Korra, smiling at the thought of juicy roast duck, freshly brazed komodo steak, and maybe, if she was extremely lucky, seaprune stew.

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><p><strong>AN: **I can't decide I want to make this a one shot or continue it, showing their impromptu lunch date or not. Anyway, here's yet another Makorra story from me. This pairing is slowly ruining me – if you couldn't tell from my author's page, lol. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!


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